Everyone Deserves A Second Chance
by soabsentminded
Summary: Adam's opening is delayed by a visit from Grace. I'm not good at summarys and this is my first fanfic so be nice. Rating just to be safe.
1. A sad hello

**Disclaimer. I do not own Joan of Arcadia or any of its characters.**

It had been a long day and Adam Rove was tired. In fact, he was exhausted. Opening an art gallery in a week will do that to a person. This gallery was going to be the best thing to happen to him. As he walked up the three flights of stairs to his New York apartment he was lost in his thoughts. Opening the stairwell door to his floor he was taken out of his trance by the sound of someone crying. As he approached his door the figure was sitting on the floor became clear.

"Grace?" He said with a worried tone. And he had every right to be. The last time he had seen Grace cry was his mother's funeral. "What's wrong? Is everything ok? Is it my dad? Grace. Talk to me."

Grace wasn't sure how to begin. After a long pause she began. "Rove, Girardi's is in the hospital."

Grace watched as Adam's face dropped. His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. Joan was hurt. "What? What happened? Is she going to be ok?" When Grace didn't respond, Adam became increasingly worried and began to shout. "GRACE! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG WITH JOAN!"

After the initial shock of Adam's heightened tone Grace began, "she was in a car accident. They're not sure if she will live. I didn't want you to get some random phone message so I got in my car and drove here. I know you two had a fight, but you may never get to see her again and I know she would give anything to see you one last time."

Without a second though, Adam had Grace by the arm and they were headed for her car. The next thing Grace new she was driving back to Arcadia with Adam in the passenger seat looking scared enough for the both of them. Adam was lost in thought as usual. He was thinking about how he was headed back to the place and the person that caused him so much pain. But right now that didn't matter. He needed to see Joan.

* * *

Meanwhile at the University Hospital in Arcadia...

Helen could not believe that she was back here. She was beginning to hate hospitals. Joan had just left for surgery and Helen was not sure when the family would get an update on Joan's condition. While Helen slowly paced back and forth mumbling something about how God was cruel, Luke and Kevin sat quietly staring at the floor. Suddenly, Luke's phone began to ring. "Grace? Are you ok? Where did you go? You have us all worried sick."

"Geek, shut up. I went to Adam's were on our way back. How is she doing? Shut it Rove, give him time to answer. ... Well?"

"Oh, Joan is in surgery. They are trying to stop the bleeding in her abdomen. Grace, please hurry. I have a feeling Joan is going to need him."

"Don't worry. We are almost there. And before you say anything, I promise to drive safe." With that Grace hung up the phone.

Adam looked like he had just seen a ghost as they reached the Arcadia city limits. Reaching for his phone Adam stated "I should probably call my dad. He will want to know about Joan." With that Adam called his father and informed him of the situation. After the conversation ended Adam looked at Grace and said "He's on his way. He said he was going to stop and get some coffee first." After another long pause, "Grace, thanks for coming to get me."

"Don't mention it. She is going to need you. Everyone knows that, even you." Grace's words rang in Adam's mind. Jane needed him. That was it. She was his Jane and for the first time in 4 years, he wasn't angry to think about Jane.

Ten minutes later Grace and Adam were in the lobby of the hospital. After finding out where the surgical waiting room was they headed up. As the elevator doors opened, more then one Girardi was surprised to see Adam get out with Grace. Helen came rushing over, "Adam. Luke didn't tell us you were coming with Grace. We didn't want to bother you this week with the opening." Pulling him into a hug, "I'm so glad you are here. Joan has wanted to see you for years now. I just have this feeling she is going to need you."

"I know Mrs. G. I'm here now. How is she?"

Before Helen could get out a response, a very sad looking surgeon appeared.

**To be continued...**


	2. Reconnect

Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I really appreciate the feedback. Also, I cannot promise that I won't kill off one of the characters. And now, back to the story.

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"Girardi family?" the doctor asked.

"Yes" came Helen's almost inaudible reply.

"Joan's surgery is over. We reduced the swelling in her head and stopped the bleeding in her abdomen. We had to induce coma for the night but we will attempt to wake her tomorrow. She is not out of the woods yes, but things are looking good so far. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, can I see my baby girl now?" was all Helen could manage to get out as tears streamed down her face.

"Of course you can. However, we can only have one visitor at a time. It's the ICU rules." Adam met Helen's gaze and let her know that he wasn't going to leave before he saw Jane.

Helen followed the doctor to see Joan and Mr. Girardi went to call the station to check in on the status of the case he was working on. Adam, Grace, Luke, and Kevin decided that they were hungry and headed for the cafeteria. As they made their way down they were met by Mr. Rove.

"I thought you would be hungry and hospital food will make us all sick." Carl said. A small laugh came over the whole group as they headed back to the waiting room to eat and wait to see Joan. When they reached the ICU waiting room, Will was waiting for them. "Carl, you didn't have to come but we do appreciate it."

Cutting Will off, "Our kids have been friends for a long time. I couldn't leave you here along. Besides I brought food and coffee."

Helen soon returned to the lobby and the rest of the Girardi's family took their turns watching over the unconscious Joan. Adam had insisted that he would go last. He wasn't sure if it was because he was just being respectful to the feelings of the Girardi's, if he was still too scared to see Jane, or both.

As night turned into day it was finally Adam's turn. As he stepped into Joan's room he saw one of the doctor's in with her. The doctor turned to Adam and with a heavy accent said "I was wondering when you were going to get up the courage to come in here, Adam."

Shocked, Adam looked at the man and said "How do you know my name and how did you know that I was scared to come in here?"

"I know everything about you. How you miss your mother and how you still long to be with Joan, but you are too afraid because every time you get close she ends up hurting you. Unfortunately, sometimes she ends up hurting you because of an assignment from me" was God's calm explanation.

"Are you? Are you, God?" God shook his head yes. Adam continued, "Jane hasn't talked about you since that day in the hospital. I just assumed that she stopped seeing you."

"No, Joan still saw me many times after that day in the hospital. She has done many wonderful things for me over the years. But now, she needs your help. She will be waking up soon. Stay here." With that Dr. God walked out of the room with his customary wave.

Still recovering with his encounter with God, Adam waited for the medicine to wear off and for Joan to wake up. Slowly Joan began to wake up, but who she saw was the last person she expected. "Adam?"

"Jane." Adam noticed Joan's broad smile at the use of her nick name and as she tried to move to face him he said "Jane, don't move. You are still very weak."

"Adam, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in 4 years let alone talked to you and doesn't your art gallery open this week?"

"Cha, Jane. You know about my opening?"

"Of course, I still keep tabs on you through the papers and Grace. I was going to come to the opening."

Not knowing what to say, "Jane, you just focus on getting better. You've got a rough road ahead."

"You're not going to leave me, are you?" Joan pleaded.

"Never, Jane. I'm not leaving you again." After a pause he continued. "I'm going to go get your family. I'm sure they will want to see you." As he got up to leave he saw that look in Joan's eyes. That look of sadness, that make his heart break into a million pieces. "Don't worry Jane, I'm only going to leave for a minute. I'll be back and we will talk when you are feeling better. You should rest now while I go get your family."

Within a few minutes the Girardi's, Grace, Carl, and Adam filled back in. After a few failed attempts at hugs and one hundred questions from Helen about how Joan is feeling and if she wanted anything to eat, things started to calm down. Finally speaking up Adam said, "Jane, I have to go back to New York for the night. I promise to be back here before you awake tomorrow morning. Dad is going to let me borrow his car so that I can be back by tomorrow. You should rest now. I will see you tomorrow." With that he kissed Joan's forehead and said his goodbyes to the rest of the Girardi's, his father, and Grace.

* * *

Next up... Jane really does need Adam in more ways then one and Adam's return to New York. 


	3. Life is full of surprises

A.N.: Some dark times ahead guys. I can't promise anything. Also, I apologize for the long time between updates. I've been super busy lately.

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything.

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The trip back to New York seemed like a life time for Adam Rove. He had so many thoughts running through his head. Least of which was how he was going to tell his agent that he was going to delay the opening of his art gallery. Noticing that he was running low on gas, he got off the highway at the nearest exit to fill up. As he began to fill his tank the man next to him said. "So why did you really leave?" Noticing the perplexed look on Adam's face he continued, "When you think no one is watching you are actually very aware of your surroundings."

"Oh, it's you." After a long pause Adam continued, "I guess I just needed to think. Jane, er, Joan and I have such a complicated history and I never really got over her. All of these feelings just came rushing back and I had to get out of there before I made a rash decision. Besides, sine I now know that she was going to come to my opening, I can't very well have it without her in attendance." God simply smiled. Adam was lost in his thoughts until the pump stopped.

After paying the cashier, Adam headed back to his car when God spoke. "You know, they were right when they said she was going to need you. I think you should head back to Arcadia now. Tie up any loose ends by phone." With that he got in his car and drove away, but not without his customary wave from the car.

Adam immediately jumped in his car and was headed back to Arcadia. After a long conversation with his agent, he had successfully delayed the opening of his art gallery. He was trying to think about anything other than the disappointed voice that his agent had used with him. He felt like a child that had just be scolded by his mother, when his phone rang. "Grace? Hey what's up? … What? I thought she was doing well. Now, I'm an hour away. … Grace, calm down. I'll be there as fast as possible." As Adam hung up the phone his foot hit the gas. He had to make it back for Jane.


	4. She needs you now

**AN: I don't own anything. That would be CBS and Barbra Hall. Also, I could really use some feed back, I'm a little worried about the direction of the story. Tell me how you think it should go. Thanks a bunch, everyone! :)**

* * *

As Adam entered the surgical ward the news he received was bleak at best. Mrs. Girardi had explained that Joan's kidneys were failing and that they needed to find a donor. "She has AB- blood, so it's hard to find a match. The rest of the family is A or B, but not AB." God's words rung in Adam's mind.

"Mrs. Girardi, calm down. I'm AB-. Jane can have one of my kidneys; she can have both of them if she needs them. I just want her to be ok." Adam was almost crying now. He really meant that Jane could have both of his kidneys if she needed them. He just wanted to see get well.

"Mrs. Girardi, I'm AB- also, if the receptor tests come back positive she can have one of mine. It's funny Rove, you and I helping Girardi. It's usually the other way around." Was all Grace could say.

Mr. Girardi had gone to get the doctor so that the test could be preformed immediately.

* * *

Adam was trying not to think about the pain. After many test he and Grace were waiting for the results. Hopefully one of them would be a match. Adam looked at Grace and said "It's funny that the 3 of us would all have the same rare blood type. Only 1 percent of the world has it."

"Can it, would you? Geek boy already went over all of the statistics with me. I don't need it from you too."

Just then Dr. God appeared. It seems that you are both a match. However, Ms. Polk, you seem to have an unusually low iron level. It would be much easier for Mr. Rove to be a donor. However, you two can decided among yourselves who would like to be the donor. Before Grace could say anything, "I will. We don't need two people being sick. And Grace, we're not doing, "rock, paper, scissors" on this one. I'm going to be the donor." Looking back at the doctor, "would you please tell the Girardi's that I am a match and schedule the surgery for as soon as possible?" With that Dr. God left.

Mrs. Girardi couldn't help but come barging in after she heard the news. Adam and Grace both had to tell her to be gentle since the tests they are endured earlier were quite painful.

Soon afterwards, the nurse moved Adam to a pre-op room. Jane was across the hall from him when all off a sudden he could hear the machine in her room start to beep wildly. Suddenly doctors and nurses from all over came rushing in and Adam was terrified to think of what was going on.

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**AN: Ah, the cliffhanger. Don't forget to give me some feedback. I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!!!**


	5. A second chance

**AN: Sorry for the long time between updates. With finals, Christmas break, and then the start of school, I have been very busy. I do promise to update this much faster now that I am back in the swing of things. And now on with the show… **

**Also, I do not own anything. That would be Barbra Hall and CBS.**

* * *

All Adam could do was sit and stare at the ceiling. He was looking for anything that would calm his nerves. What seemed like a lifetime went by before a nurse came into his room. Adam wanted nothing more then to know how his Jane was.

The cheerful nurse started to speak as soon as she entered the room. "Ok, Adam it's time to get ready for the surgery. Don't worry, it was a false alarm with Joan. She tried to turn in her sleep and accidentally pulled out one of the heart monitor sensors. She's going to be just fine once this surgery is over."

All Adam could do was let out a huge sigh of relief. He looked up and found himself mouthing the words "Thank You." Luckily the nurse had just turned around and Adam didn't have to explain his choice of words.

A few hours had gone by since Joan and Adam had gone into surgery. The surgeon came out to the waiting room and addressed the families. "I have some good news. Everything seems to have gone well. Adam is doing fine, but he will not be able to do any heavy lifting for quite some time. Joan's vitals are much improved. There is always the chance for rejection, but with the almost exact match in mitochondrial DNA we do not expect that to happen. Both of them will have to remain in the hospital for at least another week so that we can monitor their progress. They should be waking up within the next few hours. I suggest that you go get something to eat and then come back. That will give them time to wake up and let a little more of the anesthetic wear off before trying to talk. Do you have any other questions?"

Helen was the only one that spoke. "No thank you for everything." With that the Girardi's, Grace, and Mr. Rove all left to get something to eat.

* * *

Adam awoke to the sound of a phone ringing. With as much energy as he could muster he picked up the phone and quietly said "Hello?"

"Adam? It's Eliza. So you're an organ donor now?"

"Just this time. Jane was going to die." Adam's throat hurt to even whisper.

"Oh, Jane. You know if she wasn't the inspiration for so many of your best selling pieces I would be furious with you right now. Instead, I'm just slightly upset at your timing. Anyways, no heavy lifting for a few weeks, right?" Before Adam had a chance to say anything Eliza continued. "Well, I'll hire some movers once you are back in New York. I managed to move your opening back 3 months. I'm not going to lie, it's going to cost you a lot of money. But we obviously cannot open your art gallery with you in the hospital.

"Eliza. Thanks, but I need to get a glass of water. My throat is killing me. I'll call you in a few days." With that Adam hung up.

Adam was just about to pour himself a glass of water when Dr. God walked in. "Here, let me get that for you."

"Oh, it's you. You know I'm not exactly in a good position to do any tasks right now. Is Jane going to be ok?"

"No tasks today, Adam. I just wanted to thank you for helping Joan. You know, you and Joan are more alike then you pretend to let on. And you should know that I cannot answer that. I know that you have conflicting feelings when it comes to Joan."

"Jane and I just have so many memories that are on opposite sides of the emotional spectrum. I am always so confused when it comes to her."

"And she you. You have not made things easy on her lately. Running away every time she tried to explain. A word of advice, just be open. When she comes to talk don't try and stop her. Just listen. You may learn something. Oh, and Adam, you're going to be in pain for a few days. I've asked the nurse to get you some medicine for the pain, but you will be just fine." With his customary wave over the shoulder, God left the room.

About a half hour later another doctor came in a moved Adam to another room. A smile crossed his face when he realized that Jane was his roommate. "With the two of you being so close and your families straining to find time to visit both of you, we decided to let you room together. That is of course if you are both ok with this."

Both Adam and Joan agreed.

Soon after the move both of their families and Grace arrived to check on their progress. After a complete update on the status and many hugs & tears from Helen. Luke spoke up, "Well since everyone is in high spirits, I might as well as fuel to the fire. Grace has agreed to marry me." For the first time that Joan can remember she actually saw Grace blush. Joan motioned for both to come over to her bed and hugs were shared. Many more congratulations were given and then next thing everyone knew, visiting hours were over.

Joan knew she wanted to talk to Adam, but she was not sure he would listen. Truthfully, she was scared she would lose him again. Mustering up the courage Joan turned her head to look at Adam. "I think we need to talk." Adam agreed and after a long pause Joan continued, "When you asked me to go to New York with you, my heart was telling me to go. Deep down I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. However, something came up. I had it on very good authority that it would be to my advantage to stay. Honestly, I'm still trying to find out what advantage that is, but I've learned over the years that I may not see the results right away. I know the positive effects are coming. I also know that I am being very vague, but I don't know how else to describe this."

A large smile crossed Adam's face, "Jane, I believe you. If for no other reason, then He's the reason I came back from New York as fast as I did. He said that you would need me and that I should head back to Arcadia immediately. So I got in my car and started driving. I'm finally running to you instead of running away. I think that, I have always been running away in some form or another. Even in high school, I couldn't get as close to you as I wanted. There was always the photographic images in my head of everything that had gone wrong and that held me back. But I realized something on that drive home. Those memories don't mean anything because I now fully understand whey you did the things you did and how our actions have consequences."

"Adam, that's wonderful, but who are you talking about? Who told you to come back to Arcadia?"

"Jane, I've talked to God too."

Joan was now crying more then ever. She never thought that God would use Adam to help her and the positive effects of her staying were now coming into focus. For once, things for the two of them were looking up.

* * *

**AN: I swear more will be coming shortly. I'm on a roll.:) Up next: Adam's opening.**


	6. A new beginning

**AN: I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this going. I'm thinking of ending it soon and going with a sequel. But that's still all up in the air. Tell me what you think.**

**I do not own JOA, although, I wish I did.

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**

Three months later and many hours of physical therapy, left Joan on crutches (again) and Adam feeling as though he would never be able to lift anything heavy again.

The Girardi's, Grace, and Mr. Rove had all come up from arcadia to see Adam's opening. Adam had been busy the last three months. Mostly with painting since he couldn't do his normal sculptures. As Joan continued to look around a young business like woman approached her. "You must be Jane or Joan."

With a small laugh Joan said, "Joan. Only Adam calls me Jane."

"Eliza. I am Adam's agent/art dealer/manager/time keeper. I swear, if I didn't keep track of time for him, he would never get anything done."

"Well, that's Adam for you. He has always functioned on his own time." Both women shared a laugh.

"Anyways, I wanted to thank you. I do not know what you said to him over the last couple of months, but the angel painting series he has come up with is the best work I have seen him create. And since you are his inspiration for everything, I feel as though I should thank you for making my job easy."

Joan didn't know exactly what to say. She really didn't know that she was Adam's inspiration. She had always assumed that his mother occupied that position. Mentally kicking herself for not responding sooner Joan said, "Thank you. Could you tell me where this angel series is? I'd like to see it for myself."

"Of course, it's right around the corner." With that Joan headed for the small room around the corner.

As she entered the small room her breath was taken away with the figure she saw in all of the paintings. It was her. She was shown in all forms of an angel and all expressions. The two most moving pieces were entitled "Love" and "Sadness". Joan knew that these were the boundaries of their relationship. At one extreme there was the love between the two that nothing could break and at the other end was the cloud of sadness that seemed to follow then everywhere. Joan began to cry from the beautiful images that Adam had portrayed her as. Even the pieces where he focused on "sadness" and "loneliness" and "abandonment" the beauty was still there.

Joan moved around the room and she was so focused on studying every detail that she didn't hear Adam enter. "I was hoping you wouldn't find these until I could be here with you. But, I should have known better." Joan turned around. At the sight of Joan, Adam came rushing over. "Jane, don't cry. You know I cannot stand it when you cry. Besides, I wanted you to be happy about the paintings, not sad."

Composing herself before beginning. "Oh Adam, it's not that. These are tears of joy. I just didn't know that you felt the way you do. I guess that I never realized that you think of me as this beautiful person. Even when you depict unhappy things, the images are still beautiful." With that Joan began to cry again.

"Jane, you are beautiful to me and you always will be."

A quiet moment was shared between the two before they headed out to the main portion of the gallery so Adam could greet his guests. As they walked Joan just keep thinking that this was the way it was supposed to be.

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**AN: That's it for now. I have an idea about a sequel, but I could just add it on as another couplechapters. Let me know what you think.**


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